Lash removal device for a control wire system



Dec. 15, 1970 RUHALA 3,546,952

LASH REMOVAL DEVICE FOR A CONTROL WIRE SYSTEM Filed May 14, 1969 T Z w a a; m 4 H M792. t H J MAW: u m i j W 1 9 7w Z W -9 flfl. i. a J F x 4 .F. v

Mi M MJWQ B ATTORNEY nited States Patent 3,546,962 LASH REMOVAL DEVICE FOR A CONTROL WIRE SYSTEM Joseph D. Ruhala, Clarkston, Mich., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 14, 1969, Ser. No. 824,415 Int. Cl. F16c 1/10 US. Cl. 74-501 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A control wire surrounded by a sheath is operably connected to master and slave controls for simultaneous movement thereof to corresponding positions. A sheath fastener is secured to one end of the sheath and a slotted sheath fastener is secured to the other end. A compression spring surrounds the sheath with one end seating against the slotted sheath fastener. The other spring end seats against a cover for compressing the spring. After the control wire is installed, the sheath fastener has one end secured to the support member. The cover is then manually moved to compress the spring and apply tension to the sheath to remove the lash therefrom. The cover is inserted into a bifurcated holder to maintain the tension on the sheath and position the sheath. While the sheath tension is maintained, the slotted sheath fastener is permanently attached to the support.

This invention relates to control wire systems and more particularly to a lash removal and positioning device for a control 'wire system.

In control wire systems, a control wire operably connects the master control to a slave control for simultaneous movement of the controls to various corresponding positions. In order to obtain accurate correspondence between the positions of the master control and the slave control, the sheath surrounding the control wire must be adjusted to remove the lash therefrom and compensate for dimensional tolerance variations. This adjustment usually requires the use of both hands and several attempts before the control wire sheath is installed and correctly adjusted as it involves resiliently biasing and positioning the sheath surrounding the control wire while the master and slave controls are maintained in corresponding positions. The proper position must then be maintained while the biased sheath is permanently attached to a support. The adjustment may be complicated by the lack of space and awkward positioning of the slave control which often necessitates using the control wire system in the first place. This invention greatly simplifies the installation and proper adjustment of a control wire system by providing a lash removal device which automatically positions and removes the lash from the sheath upon installation of the control wire.

The lash removal device of this invention includes a control wire with a sheath therearound having a sheath fastener secured to one end and a slotted sheath fastener secured to the other end. Seated on the slotted sheath fastener is one end of a compression spring while the other end of the compression spring seats against a cover for compressin g the spring. After the control wire is installed, the sheath fastener at one end is secured to the support and the cover is manually moved to compress the spring and apply tension to the sheath to remove the lash therefrom. The cover is then slid into a bifurcated holder to maintain the tension in the sheath while the slotted sheath fastener is permanently attached to the support.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a control wire system which has a lash removal device for automatically removing lash from the sheath upon 3,546,962 Patented Dec. 15, 1970 installation of the system. It is a further object of this invention to provide a lash removal device for a control wire system which maintains an initial bias on the sheath surrounding the control wire to position the sheath during the final installation of the system. It is another object of this invention to provide a control wire system having a sheath which is anchored at one end and which has an initial bias applied thereto during installation by a manually compressed spring, with the bias being permanently maintained by a fastener at the other end of the sheath to posit-ion the sheath for final installation. These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of a control wire system having a lash removal device according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the lash removal device.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a control wire system 10 includes a control wire 12 with a knob 14 mounted on one end thereof and a loop 16 in the other end thereof operably attached to a control level 18 so that movement of the knob 14 produces a corresponding movement of the control lever 18 to control a mechanism 20.

Surrounding the wire 12 is a flexible sheath 22 which is conventionally anchored at the left end to support 24 by a hat shaped fastener 26 screwed to the support at 28. The right end of the sheath 22 has secured thereto a tubular fastener 30 having a slot 32 in the downwardly extending flange 34 thereof.

A compression spring 36 surrounds the sheath 22 with one end seated against the fastener 30 and the other end seated against a spring cover 38. As best seen in FIG. 1, spring cover 38 includes a cylindrical portion 40 surrounding the spring 36, a flange 42 on the right hand end of cover 38, a flanged tapered neck portion 44 on the left hand end of cover 38 and spaced neck tangs 46 punched out of the portion 40 for maintaining the spring cover 38 assembled to the compression spring 36 once the cover 38 has been screwed onto the left hand end of the spring 36.

As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a mounting bracket 48 includes a plate portion 50 with an upwardly extending tab 52 having a hole 54 therein for receiving a sheet metal screw and u wardly extending bifurcated end portion '56 at the left hand end of the plate portion 59'. The upwardly extending bifurcated end portion 56 has a vertical slot 58 therein opening upwardly and sized so that the sheath 22 and the flange of neck portion 44 of the cover 38 will fit therein without allowing the compression spring 36 or the cylindrical portion 40 to fit therein. This prevents installation of the control wire system 10 without properly biasing and positioning the sheath 22 as will later he described. The mounting bracket 48 is attached to the support 24 at a location which requires the compression spring 36 to be at least partially compressed after installation as will be later described.

To install a control wire system, the knob 14 and the lever 18 are first placed in corresponding positions such as ON or OFF and the loop 16 is attached to the lever 18. Next, the left end of the sheath 22 is anchored to the support by fasteners 26.

The spring cover 38 is manually grasped and pulled to compress the spring 36 against fastener 30. Both the sheath 22 and the flange of neck portion 44 of the spring cover 38 are then inserted into slot 58 of bracket 48 and the spring cover 38 is released. The force of the spring 36 against the fastener 30 biases the sheath 22 to remove the lash therefrom and maintains the applied tension on the sheath 22 to compensate for the spacing variations between the knob 14 and the lever 18 and to keep any lash from the sheath 22. Once this has been completed, a sheet metal screw 60 and a washer 62 are inserted through slot 32 in fastener 30 and screwed into hole 54 in the bracket 48 to permanently anchor the right end of the sheath 22 to the support 24, thus, completing installation and adjustment of the control wire system.

While the lash removal device of this invention is shown using a compression spring 36 and a mounting bracket 48 to bias the sheath 22, a tension spring could also be used. If a tension spring is used, the bracket 48 would be positioned on the right side of the tubular fastener 30 and the cover 38 would be suitably attached to the end portion 56.

Also it is possible to position and remove the lash from the sheath by applying compression thereto. In such case, again the positions of the spring 36, cover 38 and the mounting bracket 48 would have to be reversed and moved to the right side of the tubular fastener 30.

Thus, a control wire system according to this invention positions the sheath and both compensates for the spacing variation between master and slave controls and automatically removes any lash in the sheath during the installation of the system.

I claim: a

1. In a control wire system including a control wire operatively connected to master and slave controls for simultaneous movement thereof to corresponding positions and a sheath surrounding the wire, means for positioning and removing lash from the sheath upon installation on a support, comprising. means mounting one end of the sheath to the support, anchor means secured to the other end of the sheath, resilient means secured to the anchor means and being movable to apply a biasing force thereto to bias the other end of the sheath relative to the one end to remove the lash from the sheath, and position the sheath, and means maintaining the position of the sheath upon release of the resilient means 2. In a control wire system including a control wire operatively connected to a master and slave controls for simultaneous movement thereof to corresponding positions and a sheath surrounding the wire, means for positioning and removing the lash from the sheath upon installation on a support comprising, means mounting one end of the sheath to the support, anchor means secured to the other end of the sheath and adapted to be mounted to the support, resilient means having one part thereof secured to the anchor means and the other part thereof being manually movable relative to the one part to exert a bias on the other end of the sheath biasing the 4 other end relative to the one end to remove the lash from the sheath, means maintaining the other part of the resilient means in the relative position upon manual release of the other part to maintain the bias on the other end of the sheath, and means securing the anchor means to the support.

3. In a control wire system including a control wire operatively connected to master and slave controls for simultaneous movement thereof to corresponding positions and a sheath surrounding the wire, means for positioning and removing the lash from the sheath upon installation on a support comprising, means mounting one end of the sheath to the support, anchor means secured to the other end of the sheath, a compression spring having one end seated on the anchor means, seat means on the other end of the compression spring and being movable toward the anchor means to compress the compression spring and bias the other end of the sheath away from the one end thereof to position the sheath and remove the lash therefrom, and means securing the anchor means and seat means to the support after the sheath is positioned and the lash is removed.

4. In a control wire system including a control wire operatively connected to master and slave controls for simultaneous movement thereof to corresponding positions and a sheath surrounding the wire, means for positioning and removing the lash from the sheath upon installation on a support, comprising, means mounting one end of the sheath to the support, anchor means secured to the other end of the sheath and adapted to be mounted in various positions on the support. a compression spring surrounding the sheath, with one end thereof seated on the anchor means, means seated on the other end of the compression spring and being manually movable to compress the spring and bias the other end of the sheath away from the one end thereof to position the sheath and remove the lash therefrom, means securing the manually movable means to the support after the compression spring is compressed to maintain the biasing force on the sheath, and means securing the anchor means in one position to the support while the biasing force on the sheath is maintained.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/ 1945 Batterson et al 74-501 4/1969 McCabe 74--50l 

